Types of Groupmates You Encounter in Architecture School

In architecture school, group work is inevitable. Over seven semesters, I’ve dealt with my fair share of frustrating groupmates—it sometimes feels like I’ve faced more challenges with them than in any friendship or relationship! Every project presents a new challenge.

For non-designers, it might seem like an exaggeration, but one bad groupmate can change you as a person, just like a situationship or breakup—only if you’re invested, of course.

Here are some very specific types of group mates I’ve encountered, along with tips on how to survive working with them.

1. The Irresponsible One

My sympathies go out to anyone stuck with this type. They have entirely different priorities and behave irresponsibly when working in a team. They don’t show up on time and constantly waste your energy. Even worse, they don’t communicate—leaving you hanging all day. After trying to reach them 50 times, you finally give up and do the work yourself. Sometimes I wonder if that was their plan all along.

What can you do? You can’t complain to the faculty without looking immature. The best way to handle them is to vent to your friends, get it out of your system, and move on. You could confront them, but chances are they either don’t care or don’t want to deal with it. My advice: do your part, send a polite email to the faculty if necessary, and let it go.

2. The Fake Contributor

This person is tricky. They seem engaged in the group chat, always responding promptly, but when the deadline comes, they either claim they “didn’t know how” to do the task or deliver subpar work. It’s the most frustrating type because you can’t outright accuse them of slacking off.

What can you do? Honestly, just accept that if you want a quality submission, you’ll need to step up and put in the extra effort. Venting to friends helps, but sometimes there’s no avoiding the extra work.

3. The Time-Clock Worker

This person refuses to put in any time beyond the “scheduled” hours, even when the project demands more. They treat every task like a 9-to-5 job, oblivious to the fact that architecture school isn’t built for strict time boundaries.

I once had this issue in a group of three, where the project clearly required everyone to stay a little late. When I asked for extra time, one groupmate refused, citing “work hours.” While work-life balance is essential, in short, intensive courses, we all need to step up. After this experience, I realized you can’t control how seriously others take the work, so it’s best to stay calm and compromise where necessary.

4. The Unresponsive One

This person’s communication is a mess. I worked with someone like this on a long-term project, and it was beyond frustrating. They wouldn’t answer calls, refused to share progress, and never stayed on the same page with the rest of the group. When it came to discussions, they either ignored input or repeated the same points without listening to anyone else. Senior ego, much?

At first, I tried hard to establish better communication, but when it became clear they didn’t care, I had to accept it. I realized I couldn’t control their behavior, so I focused on doing my best. Surprisingly, letting go of that need to negotiate everything brought me more peace than I expected. Sometimes, you just have to sit back, relax, and do what you can.

5. The Ideal Collaborators

Luckily, I’ve also had the pleasure of working with friends who were incredible groupmates. I’ve heard people say that working with friends can be risky, but I disagree. When there’s a strong understanding and open communication, it works beautifully. Sure, we had disagreements—sometimes big ones—but we always found common ground and kept moving forward.

Working with friends made group projects fun, and I actually looked forward to it. If you have the choice, pick your groupmates wisely. Trusting the people you work with can make all the difference when you’re facing stressful deadlines.

Even after such traumatic experiences, I feel relieved when the faculty says “group work,” because having someone with me means we can figure it out together. It’s not my sole headache. You know what I mean—it’s more fun to discuss and work than to work alone. What’s your opinion?

Once, our faculty made us build a huge site model as a studio. It had 500 contours and 10,000 trees, and 12 of us had to work on it together. After a week, it still wasn’t finished. The faculty refused to discuss anything until the model was done. Full drama ensued—fights, blaming people for not showing up or not putting in equal effort. And all the while, we had no clue what the model was for. After the semester ended, the faculty told us she wanted us to bond, collaborate, and work as a team. Trust me—it worked. We could discuss and talk more freely in the studio after that trauma bonding. I’m still friends with most of the people from that studio.

Conclusion

Group work in architecture school is a wild ride—frustrating, exhausting, and sometimes even fun. From irresponsible members to non-communicators, every project comes with its own set of challenges. But hey, it’s part of the experience, right? If you can handle it with a bit of patience, adaptability, and humor, you’ll get through it.

And occasionally, you’ll find those groupmates who make all the struggles worth it. When you do, hold onto them! For everything else, do your best and try not to stress about what you can’t control. In the end, it’s all part of the process. And, you know, if all else fails, just take a deep breath and say, Jo hoga dekha jayega (whatever happens, happens).

Thanks for reading! Feel free to vent in the comments—tell me about your most memorable groupmates, whether they were awesome or… not so much.